Did Reggie Wayne just play his final home game?

In the closing moments of Sunday's game at Lucas Oil Stadium, something unsurprising happened: The crowd started chanting "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!"

You know the routine. Fans were paying tribute to receiver Reggie Wayne, which isn't a new phenomenon in these parts.

But the context on Sunday made this situation different than the countless other times you've heard adoration for Wayne.

Sunday's game could have been Wayne's last in Indianapolis.

Wayne hasn't offered any hints of his future intentions, but the signs are all there: His contract is expiring, his body is beat up, and the Colts are getting younger at wide receiver while Wayne is 36 and counting. Retirement is certainly on the table.

The Colts won't play at home again this season unless they beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday in the division round and the Baltimore Ravens upset the New England Patriots. That would set up an AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis.

So, after the game was over, the question was unavoidable. Wayne was asked whether he thought the chants were something of a sendoff.

"Well, they've (done that before)," Wayne said. "I appreciate them showing appreciation and I do everything I possibly can to show the love back. These people in Indiana have had my back since 2001. Fourteen years later, they still have my back. It's been awesome to be here. ... getting all the support I get week in and week out.

"I don't have the words. I wish I could buy everybody a hot dog or something."

Wayne faces offseason surgery on his torn left triceps and is fighting through other assorted aches and pains, including a sore groin muscle.

But give Wayne credit for bouncing back the past few weeks, when he's pushed through the pain to help the Colts win games. The drops that afflicted Wayne in the weeks after his triceps injury have subsided, and Wayne even threw a key block on Sunday, allowing running back Boom Herron to pick up a first down.

Will Wayne be back? He's not saying just yet. What he will talk about, however, is that he has at least one more game to play on Sunday against a Broncos team that defeated the Colts in Week 1.

"You just want another opportunity to play," Wayne said. "Regardless if it's a team we lost to or whatever. Whenever we lose, you just want another opportunity to play again. Denver is next on the list.

"I'm just glad I'm still working."

And he'll do so with those aforementioned fans in mind. The hot dogs might not be forthcoming. But Wayne offers something more important.

"I do everything I possibly can," he said, "to show the appreciation back in the way I play."


(indystar.com)